Unlocking the Past: How to Date Earrings by Their Fastenings
Quick answer
The fastening is usually the fastest way to date a pair of earrings. A screw-back places them between roughly 1894 and the 1950s. A clip-on means 1930s at the earliest. A hand-made hook is consistent with Georgian or Victorian work. A butterfly back tells you very little, because those are replaced more often than any other component.
The fitting dates the fitting. Confirm with the hallmarks, the cut of the stones and how the piece is put together.
| Fastening | Period in use | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Hook / shepherd's crook | Georgian onwards | Hand-made irregularity supports an early date |
| Hinged back | c.1850–1910 | Good-quality Victorian or Edwardian work |
| Screw-back | c.1894–1950s | The most precise dating fitting here |
| Clip-on | 1930s onwards | Weak dating evidence, judge the piece instead |
| French / kidney wire | Late 1800s onwards | Often a later conversion for pierced ears |
| Lever-back | c.1900 onwards | Consistent with a better-quality drop |
| Push-back / butterfly | 1890s, dominant after 1950 | Backs are usually replacements |
| La Pousette | 20th century | Fitted to earrings that were expensive when new |
Hook and Shepherd’s Crook
Georgian onwards
The oldest fastening still in use. A shaped wire hooks through the ear and the weight of the drop holds it in place.
Georgian and early Victorian hooks were made by hand, so the wire tapers unevenly and the curve is not perfectly regular. That irregularity is a good sign. Perfectly uniform wire on a supposedly Georgian pair usually means the fittings have been replaced.
How to recognise it
A plain wire that passes through the lobe and hangs free, with no back.
What it means for value
Common on Georgian and Victorian drops. Because nothing secures them, surviving pairs are scarcer than you would expect, and a matched original pair is worth notably more than a single.
Hinged Back
c.1850–1910
The wire is hinged at one side and latches into a catch on the other, which keeps the earring secure without a separate back to lose.
Very common on Victorian and Edwardian gold earrings. Check the hinge moves freely and the catch still holds. A sprung catch that no longer grips is a straightforward repair.
How to recognise it
A hinged wire that swings up and clicks into a small catch behind the lobe.
What it means for value
A strong indicator of a good-quality Victorian or Edwardian pair. The mechanism took work to make, so it tends to appear on better pieces.
Screw-Back
c.1894–1950s
Screw-backs let women wear earrings without pierced ears, which mattered a great deal in a period when piercing had fallen out of fashion in polite society.
They appear from the 1890s, dominate the 1900s to 1930s, and fade through the 1950s as clip-ons take over. If you have a pair of screw-backs, the fitting alone brackets the piece to roughly sixty years.
Check the thread turns cleanly. A stripped thread is common and reduces usability rather than the value of the gold and stones.
How to recognise it
A threaded post with a small disc that screws up against the back of the lobe. No piercing required.
What it means for value
The most useful dating fitting on this page. A screw-back places a pair firmly between the 1890s and the 1950s, which is why it is worth identifying correctly.
Clip-On
1930s onwards
Clip-ons appear in the 1930s and become the default unpierced fitting after the Second World War, replacing the screw-back.
On their own, clip-ons are weak dating evidence because they have been made continuously ever since. Judge the pair on the metal, the stones and the maker instead.
How to recognise it
A sprung pad that pinches the lobe, opened with a small lever.
What it means for value
Dating depends on the piece rather than the clip. Signed designer clip-ons from the 1950s and 1960s are the ones that carry value.
French Wire / Kidney Wire
Late 19th century onwards
A continuous wire bent into a kidney shape, hooking back on itself so the earring cannot slide out.
Often found on pieces that were converted, so check whether the wire looks original to the drop. A bright modern wire on a dark antique drop is a conversion.
How to recognise it
A long curved wire that loops through the lobe and latches into itself.
What it means for value
Neutral for value. Frequently fitted later to convert older drops for pierced ears.
Lever-Back
c.1900 onwards
A post passes through the ear and a hinged lever closes behind it, which makes it the most secure fitting for a heavy drop.
Widely used from around 1900 onwards on better earrings, and still made today, so treat it as consistent with quality rather than as a precise date.
How to recognise it
A hinged lever that closes behind the lobe and snaps shut.
What it means for value
The standard secure fitting on good Edwardian and later drops. Its presence is consistent with a quality piece.
Push-Back / Butterfly
1890s onwards, dominant post-1950
A straight post and a separate friction back. Simple, cheap to make, and the reason it became universal.
Butterfly backs are the single most commonly replaced component in earrings, so a modern back on a Victorian pair means very little. Look at the post and the front instead.
How to recognise it
A straight post with a separate butterfly-shaped back that pushes on.
What it means for value
Backs are frequently replaced and rarely original. Judge the earring, not the back.
La Pousette
20th century
A sprung locking back that grips the post and releases only when both tabs are pressed. Considerably more secure than a butterfly.
Because it costs more to fit, La Pousette backs tend to appear on earrings that were expensive when new.
How to recognise it
A patented locking back released by pressing two small tabs.
What it means for value
Indicates a considered, better-quality piece. Usually found on earrings made to a higher standard.
Safety Back
20th century
A back with a secondary locking action, made for pieces where losing an earring would be expensive.
Frequently retro-fitted to valuable earrings, so it says more about how the piece was treated than about when it was made.
How to recognise it
A back with an additional catch or screw that locks over the post.
What it means for value
Fitted where the earring was worth protecting. A useful hint that the piece was valued by its owner.
Are vintage earrings worth anything?
This is the question most people actually have, so here is the honest answer. The fastening adds nothing to the value. It tells you when the earrings were made, which matters, but nobody pays extra for a screw-back.
Three things decide what a pair is worth:
- The metal. 9KT, 15KT, 18KT and platinum are worth having. Gold-plated, rolled gold and base metal generally are not, whatever the age.
- The stones. Natural stones and old-cut diamonds carry real value. Paste, glass and synthetics do not, though good Georgian paste has its own following.
- The maker. A signature changes everything. Signed pieces sell for multiples of unsigned equivalents of the same materials.
Being a matched original pair matters too. Because hook earrings have nothing holding them in, singles are far more common than pairs, and a genuine matched pair is worth considerably more than twice a single.
Before you decide they are worthless
Earrings are frequently unmarked, or marked only on the post or the back in letters too small to read without magnification. We regularly see people conclude a pair is costume because they could not find a hallmark, when the mark was there all along.
If you can photograph the post and the back clearly, that is usually enough for us to tell you what the metal is. Our gold hallmarks guide explains what the marks mean.
Not sure what you have?
Send a photograph of the front, and one of the fastening and post. We will tell you the fitting, roughly when it dates from and whether the pair is worth looking at properly. Free, no obligation, and we buy outright rather than on consignment. Mayfair and Braintree, or free insured collection across the UK.
